Slinging to Korea from Iowa.

I first read about the Sling Box in June, when I first returned to Korea to teach English as a Foreign Language for the third time. In Korea, everyone with cable TV receives the Armed Forces Network Korea, which is broadcast for the troops stationed here. However, that is the only full time English Channel, unless you spend a lot more money for full cable with HBO and Sky. It is one of the drawbacks to living here. Last week, my friend reminded me about it and said that he had an extra Dish receiver that they only use about once a month, and he wanted to let me use it. He has an upstream speed of 750kbs and I have a great connection here in Korea. One of the most wired countries on the planet. I went online to Best Buy, bought it, and had him hook it up yesterday and voilà, it worked immediately. I was able to watch live TV with near perfect picture and sound from the other side of the planet (streaming between 300kbs and 700kbs). Now most people I seen comment on the idea say, "why would I want to place-shift TV?" Well, for people who live long term overseas, the benefits are great. I can watch the local news back in Des Moines, Iowa, and watch prime time without have to either download shows or have someone back home tape them and send them over. The idea that Sling Media had to place-shift TV makes life much more bearable while living in Korea, where most people do not speak English. It will also allow me to use it as a teaching tool. I will not let the kids watch TV shows, but commercials will make an excellent change in listening practice. So, I want to thank the people at Sling for creating such a great little box.

John